Who we are
Partisan Records is an independent record label with offices in Los Angeles and London as well as in New York City, where the company was co-founded in 2007 by Tim Putnam and Ian Wheeler. The label, initially run out of Putnam’s South Brooklyn apartment, relocated in 2009 to their flagship office in Williamsburg where they still reside. Holy Sons (‘Decline Of The West’) was the first release on the label, and early success followed shortly thereafter with the release of Deer Tick (‘War Elephant’).
In 2008, while working as the Night Manager for The Knitting Factory venue at their Leonard St. location in Manhattan, Putnam was approached by Knitting Factory Entertainment to form a strategic partnership with Partisan. Together they've reissued the Fela Kuti catalogue and revived their label, Knitting Factory Records, which also includes Grammy-nominated members of the Kuti family, Femi and Seun.
Partisan has since cultivated an eclectic, diverse roster across all genres, prioritizing an artist-friendly philosophy, and achieving international acclaim. In 2019 earned their first-ever Grammy nomination for ‘Deran’ by Bombino followed by two more nominations in 2020 for ‘A Hero’s Death’ by Fontaines D.C. and ‘Song For Our Daughter’ by Laura Marling. In 2020 they also achieved a #1 UK album for ‘Ultra Mono’ by IDLES.
Putnam now serves as President of Partisan, and Wheeler manages The Talkhouse, which he founded in 2015 and shares an office with Partisan.